


A Lovely Day In Hades

by Ninebubble



Series: EXO/Greek Myths [1]
Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Greek Mythology - Freeform, Hades - Freeform, Hell, M/M, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-12
Updated: 2018-03-12
Packaged: 2019-03-30 02:03:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,665
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13940202
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ninebubble/pseuds/Ninebubble
Summary: Baekhyun, God of Spring and Flowers, has a surprise ready for his husband's birthday.





	A Lovely Day In Hades

 

**

 

Baekhyun smiles as he walks through hell. The weather doesn't change much down here, and it's usually gloomy outside of the Fields, but sometimes gloom is nice. It was really hard to get used to it at first, he remembers, as he _is_ the Lord of Flowers and those just don't really grow in Hades, but after all this time he's come to love it just as much as he loves the fields and rivers where he grew up. He goes back up there often enough anyway, and it's nice to have a place to get away from his overbearing mother too. So what if there's fog and people screaming in some corners ? At least it's his.

His and Chanyeol's, that is. It helps that the entire place reminds him of his husband, the Lord of Hades, and the most loving person Baekhyun has ever met. As he walks by the river Styx, little patches of greenery springing from his footsteps, he's reminded of the first time they met.

It was late September, deep in the woods. He'd gone to meet up with his best friend Jongdae, the Lord of Wine and General Fun Times, and somehow got lost. There had been a rainstorm and a dark cave, which turned out to be one of the gates to Hades. As Baekhyun sat on a rock in the cave mouth, absently weaving himself a flower crown while he waited for the rain to stop, Chanyeol had been drawn out to look at the one who seemed so out of place anywhere near hell.

"It was love at first sight," Chanyeol usually announces proudly when they tell of how they met, by now a well-rehearsed story.

But the Lord of Hades had been too shy to come out directly, and had turned himself invisible to bring the shivering young deity his cloak. He had pretended to be a simple earth spirit, fearing that his title would have its usual effect and scare off the lovely young man who had taken refuge on his doorstep. The rain showed no sign of abating, and Baekhyun had begged him to stay and keep him company. By now completely smitten, Chanyeol had no chance of escape. He sat down on a rock and they spent hours talking about anything and everything. He stayed carefully invisible, and with every passing minute he pushed away the thought that Baekhyun would soon leave and never return.

But although the rain had eventually stopped, and Baekhyun had ventured out into the undergrowth with the dark cloak and flower crown to meet his friend, waving a heartfelt goodbye to the being who had been such good company, he left with the promise that he would come back.

He kept this promise, and a few days later found him back at the mouth of the cave, calling for the nameless being who had been so nice to him during the rainstorm. After a short silence, his calls were answered and he felt the same warm, hesitant presence that had been with him before.

"I brought the cloak back," he said softly, presenting it to what he hoped was the mysterious being. Chanyeol had laughed, because he was turned the wrong way, and Baekhyun thought to himself how nice that laugh was. It was warm, like the presence, not the warmth of sunshine he was used to but a deeper, softer heat.

"Keep it," whispered Chanyeol. "I gave it to you. It's yours."

After a pause, the young man shyly spoke. "Can I ask you a question ?"

"Anything," he answered, adding in his mind _For you_.

"Why is the clasp of this cloak the literal symbol of Hades ?"

Realizing that he was caught, Chanyeol decided to reveal himself. He made the other promise not to freak out before lifting the invisibility and showing himself in his dark, deathly glory. Not that he actually looked like a corpse, you just have to maintain a certain gravitas when you're the Lord of the Underworld, and Chanyeol prided himself on dressing to the occasion. But showing himself to the one he loved was not a common occasion, and he was not ready for it.

To his intense relief, and causing him to fall even deeper, Baekhyun's face had split into an awestruck smile.

His life was filled with nymphs, fauns, dryads and naiads, and frankly a little too much Jongdae, a background against which Chanyeol in his dark garb stood out perfectly.

"You look beautiful," he had whispered, letting his gaze run over the other's night-black hair and big, worried eyes.

Chanyeol, Lord of Hades, blushed. Beautiful was not the adjective people usually thought of first to describe him. At best he would get "impressive" or "terrifying", and his own best friend Sehun would usually go for "lumpy", "gangly", or something equally undignified and rather unexpected when coming from an employee. The problem in Hades was that _everyone_ was his employee. Sehun, being the literal embodiment of Death, just had no scruples about talking back to his boss.

Perhaps it was the contrast that Baekhyun cut against this bleak landscape that had been the spark of his love. Whatever it was, Chanyeol was reduced to a blushing mess by his happy eyes and blinding smile.

All of these memories come back in a rush to Baekhyun as he walks his usual path along the Styx. His reverie is interrupted for a minute by the old ferryman Charon who asks him about the delivery they're all impatiently awaiting (except Chanyeol, he knows nothing about this and is in for a very big surprise). Baekhyun can't help but laugh as he imagines his husband's surprised face when he opens the box. This is going to his very best birthday. Jongdae's promised to pop down and create one or two temporary rivers of wine in hell, and everyone will be granted a reprieve from the suffering and punishment for as long as Chanyeol is drunk.

The ferryman receives his last instructions and pushes his boat along the river, waving cheerfully at Baekhyun.

 _Yes_ , he thinks as keeps walking, _Hades is a really nice place_.

He wasn't so sure at first. Though he quickly fell in love with the Lord of the place, and though he asked for his hand in marriage in the most romantic way any god had ever devised, it had been hard moving. They'd had to elope, first of all, because Baekhyun's mother Junmyeon was not having a god of Death anywhere near her precious son. She had thrown quite the tantrum when he'd disappeared and in the end, they had had to take it before the Lord of Olympus himself, Kris. This had been nerve-wracking, until Chanyeol had leaned over and revealed with a sly grin that Kris was actually his older brother and there was no way he would side with Junmyeon. He didn't, but he did settle the matter with a rather effective compromise. There had been something about a pomegranate but Baekhyun hadn't really been paying attention at that point. Once Kris had said they could stay married, he had drifted off into a happy daydream and let the others figure out the details, squeezing Chanyeol's hand in his own the whole time.

Eventually, he comes to the spot on the river's bank that he's been looking for. It's a little rock where he can sit and think as he watches the water flow by.

Of course he misses the surface sometimes, and for the first hundred years it was hard to keep himself from trying to free the souls suffering in Tartar. One day he'd snuck a bite of apple to a poor guy standing in a pond. That had been the only big fight they'd ever had. It hadn't even really been a fight. Chanyeol had just sat down with him and explained what exactly the man had done. It was a gruesome story, and Baekhyun had felt himself tear up at the thought of the child Pelops being cooked alive by his own father.

"Don't cry, Baek, it's okay. Kris revived him, he lives on Olympus now," Chanyeol had said quickly, wiping with his big hand the single tear that had fallen.

It had been the disappointment in his husband's eyes that had pushed him to apologize for his thoughtless actions, and promise never to interfere in the cycle of Hades ever again.

Baekhyun knows that he has a tendency to be carefree and naive (Jongdae often called him an airhead), but he feels that moving to Hades has made him less so. Chanyeol helps him see that not everything is always sunshine and daisies, and that sometimes that's okay. And Baekhyun helps his husband too, he thinks happily. The Lord of the Dead sometimes becomes mysteriously sad, which the Lord of Flowers thinks is only natural when you never get any sunshine. When these spells take him, Baekhyun drags him to the surface, which is not _that_ far, for a picnic (he never really dares to go there on his own). He puts on his most cheerful self, and it usually only takes a day for the mood to leave Chanyeol,

"When it usually took weeks," Sehun had one day confided in him.

The embodiment of Death, though rather less charming than his boss, has proved to be very good company as well. Baekhyun smiles when he sees the tall, dark figure walk along the path to meet him.

"Hello Baekhyun," he grumbles.

He always looks like he's annoyed, and at first that was a problem because Baekhyun needs to be loved wherever he goes. He thought for weeks that Sehun hated him, until he told Chanyeol, who started laughing and explained that it's just the way he feels he has to be.

"You know, as a literal embodiment of death, he can't be all sunshine and flowers like you are."

"I don't see why not," answered the young man thoughtfully. "People would be less scared of dying if I was in charge of claiming them."

"That's true, but we can't have all of humanity falling in love with Death," had answered Chanyeol, pulling him close for a kiss.

After that, things had gone much better with Sehun and now Baekhyun likes him almost as much as he likes Jongdae. Sometimes better, because Sehun never laughs at him. But then, Sehun never laughs.

He's good company anyway, and Baekhyun makes room for him on his rock.

"When is the package due ?" He asks gloomily, failing to hide the tiny spark of excitement in his eyes.

"In two hours. I sent Charon to get it, he'll bring it to the Palace by the back road. But I can't decide when to give it to him. What do you think ? Before the party ?"

The embodiment of death ponders this for while. "Before," he says simply. "It's not the kind of present that can wait for very long."

"That's true. I'm just worried about having it around at a party."

"It'll be the centre of attention," answers Sehun softly.

Baekhyun knows that his advice is always good, and that decides him.

"Before the party then. I can't wait to see his face !"

"It'll probably be stupider than usual," he mumbles, before rising with a sigh and leaving to perform his duties, giving Baekhyun one of his extremely rare smiles. "See you later."

Baekhyun smiles back wide and waves him off, returning to his daydream. The two hours pass quickly, and he returns to the Palace to let Charon in with the box. As he crosses the big hallway of their home, he sees his reflection in a brass mirror. He forgot that he made his hair a soft pink for today, and is happy to see that it really works. Chanyeol is going to love it. As it turns out, the Lord of the Underworld is really fond of pastels.

There's a knock on the back door, and Baekhyun opens to find the old ferryman, still in his boat. He keeps forgetting it can move on dry land too, but it's happened so often now that his face doesn't even show his surprise. The big, heavy box in the back hovers off and slowly floats down to the marbled floor.

"Thanks Charon," says Baekhyun. He receives a bow and a toothless smile in return, and the boat drifts off in the slight breeze of Hades.

As the young man ponders how exactly to move the crate and where to put it, a pair of arms encircles him all of a sudden. The body that presses against his tightly is so much taller - it's always a little overwhelming to get a surprise hug from Chanyeol.

He turns on the spot and throws his own slender arms around his husband's neck, standing on tiptoe to kiss him gently. They break apart when Chanyeol starts laughing.

"You changed your hair for my birthday ?"

"I thought you'd like the pink," Baekhyun smiles softly. Everything about the Lord of the Dead makes him want to smile.

"I love it. You look even better than you usually do."

Another kiss follows before Baekhyun asks "Should I just keep it this colour then ?"

Chanyeol ponders for a minute. "Why don't you just make it a rainbow ? Every week a new colour !"

"Anything for you," is the tender answer.

"What's that ?" Asks his husband after another longer, deeper kiss, pointing to the crate behind him.

Baekhyun curses. He forgot all about that. But this is as good a time as any for the surprise, he thinks.

"It's your birthday present. I was going to keep it for later, but you might as well open it now."

The box starts rattling, and Chanyeol's eyebrows fly up. He loves surprises, and he trusts Baekhyun completely, but the noises coming from the crate are high pitched and honestly, a little scary. He knows that his husband has a tendency to rescue hurt creatures, even when they're technically monsters.

"Baek," he says hesitantly, "this isn't another hydra incident, is it ?"

But Baekhyun laughs, and waves his hand reassuringly. "No, don't worry. Everyone is in on this, and you know Charon would never let me in with another one of those."

This helps a little, and the tender look he gets from those sparkling eyes helps a lot. Chanyeol loves him so much it sometimes hurts a little. His fears placated, he moves towards the box, which has now stopped rattling.

Baekhyun can barely contain himself as he's slowly lifting the lid, and he actually squeals when Chanyeol lifts out the cutest puppy anyone has ever seen. Its fur is white with black spots, its ears are silly floppy things and it has bright eyes on each of its three heads, which are looking at them so excitedly the Lord of Flowers almost feels himself turn into a puppy too.

"Oh my Gaïa, Baek. You got me a puppy ?" There's wonder in Chanyeol's voice and tears of happiness in his eyes, and Baekhyun might start crying too if he wasn't too busy laughing in delight at the success of his surprise.

"Do you like him ?"

"I love him. I love him so much." He hugs the puppy close. "What's his name ?"

Baekhyun smiles. "His name is Spot ! Isn't it perfect ?"

Chanyeol starts laughing as well. For a god of nature and spring, his husband is extremely unimaginative when it comes to naming things. He hugs the puppy closer still and smiles at the love of his life.

"It _is_ perfect. What a good boy, Spot. Good boy," he whispers, petting the three-headed dog.

Baekhyun comes closer and Chanyeol pulls him into the hug. The puppy looks up at them with wide eyes. It clearly has no idea what's going on, but it seems to be enjoying itself. _What a lovely day in hell_ , thinks Baekhyun as he stands on tiptoe to give the Lord of Hades another birthday kiss.

 

**

 

**Author's Note:**

> Fun fact ! There's pretty good evidence that suggests Cerberus or Kerberos means Spotted in Ancient Greek. 
> 
> That anecdote + all of my ChanBaek feels are the origin of this piece of tooth-rotting fluff. 
> 
> I hope you liked it :)


End file.
